Saint Francis in the Desert

St. Francis in the Desert - Giovanni Bellini 

Protestant Reedsburg parents arrested after 15-year-old dies during 40-day fast, police say

A Reedsburg father and mother were arrested Sunday after their 15-year-old son died during a 40-day fast, the Reedsburg Police Department said.

Kehinde Omosebi, 49, walked to the police department Sunday afternoon to report the death of his son, Reedsburg Police Chief Timothy Becker said. When officers went to the family’s home on Alexander Avenue, they had to force their way in through doors that had padlocks on the inside and found the boy, Ayanfe Omosebi, “extremely emaciated and deceased,” Becker said.

An 11-year-old child was also found extremely emaciated but alive along with the mother, 48-year-old Titilayo Omosebi, who was also emaciated, Becker said.

Becker said the father described himself as a “religious minister affiliated with Cornerstone Reformation Ministries,” and the family started their fast on July 19.

https://lacrossetribune.com/news/state-and-regional/reedsburg-parents-arrested-after--year-old-dies-during-/article_097e5010-a5ae-5940-9e10-34fa9a3dcaac.html

Very sad when religious confusion causes a tragedy like this.

Fr. Moses Sharing His Thoughts On Fasting

On the Western calendar it is the first week of the fast and people are already going nuts about their Lenten fast. Therefore, I thought I would write some things for people to think about regarding why and how we fast.

WHY WE FAST

Fasting is a discipline that helps us grow closer to God and at the same time is a way we show our love towards God. It is not a bunch of rules to follow in Pharisaical type manner. If that were the case, all of the vegans who “fast” year round would be super holy! We fast to simplify our lives, to make more time for God, and to deny ourselves in order to feel hungry and unsatisfied in our flesh. This should lead us to hunger for God who alone can fulfill our deepest desires.

Because fasting is a discipline one has to be able to safely, and knowingly, take on the discipline. Infants and small children cannot properly enter into the fasting discipline. Neither can people with health issues (pregnant and nursing mothers included). This doesn’t mean that young children (absolutely not infants) and people with health issues cannot in some way observe the fast. In my own experience as a diabetic and a monk, I personally have had to modify my own fasting. Eating meat during Lent while cooking vegan meals for my brothers has humbled me. Reminding me of my own dependence on God and the need to be obedient to my Abbot who has forbidden me from keeping the traditional fast. Not that I eat filet mignon or anything like that; I eat what I must for my health and keep things simple.

continue at Every Home a Monastery

HT Holy Resurrection Monastery